Education Comes First, Improving Hispanic Student Achievement!

It is undeniable that the Hispanic population will become the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the United States. Whether students are in elementary school, high school or heading on to college, educating young Latinos is essential for their future, especially to realize their full potential within the workforce. When it comes to education, opportunities abound for many economically disadvantage students, however, there are many challenges that the Latino community face that need attention, and education is a crucial matter to address.

One of the greatest concerns for the Latino community in the United States is the high dropout rate among Latino students in schools. According to the Status and Trends in the Education of Hispanics report by the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), Hispanics have made gains in key education areas in the past 20 years, but despite such gains, the gaps between Hispanic and non-Hispanic White students in academic performance still remain. Hispanic students have higher high school dropout rates and lower high school rates than White or Black Students. 

As this occurs, U.S. Secretary of Education, Margaret Spellings takes steps forward to improve student achievement by putting students first. “The greatest thing for students is to help students, they are our focus,” she says. “We have annual measurements, and we are holding ourselves accountable for the education of every kid, and that means every Hispanic kid.”
A leader in reform to make education more innovative and responsive, Secretary Spellings works to ensure that young Americans, that including Hispanics have the knowledge and skills to succeed in the 21st century. In order to do so, she works to enforce the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, which commits schools to bring students to grade level or better in reading and math by 2014. She has supported teachers with financial incentives for gains in student achievement and parents with educational options, has announced new rules to ensure students with disabilities and English language learners are educated to the highest standards and has proposed a plan for higher education that would improve accessibility, accountability and affordability.

Accessibility, meaning raising awareness on the importance of education and adequate preparation
Accountability is a huge part of understanding the product of higher education, “We need more transparency,” she says. “Many ask themselves, ‘Is it a better deal for me to go to a private institution and get out in four years and have some debt or is it better deal to go to my state institution and get out in potentially six and have less debt, plus have the opportunity cost given the additional two years in education’ I think we have not empowered consumers as well as we can with information about higher education.”

Last but not least, affordability. With tuition and fees skyrocketing, a lack of financial resources remains the biggest barrier for Hispanic families. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Hispanic higher education needs are less subsidized than those of any other group. “This year the president called for the largest increase in the Pell Grant in more than 30 years,” Spellings says. “It is $4500, and he wants to raise it to $5400, we’ve simply got to provide more resources particularly for our median students.

So how does the No Child Left Behind Act benefit Hispanics?

According to the U.S. Department of Education, Stronger Accountability: How No Child Left Behind Benefits Hispanic Report these are some ways it has played a role in education for Hispanics:

In the past, Hispanic American students were shortchanged by nation’s schools. In order to resolve this issue, the following was designed:

• Two education systems – separate and unequal.

• A growing “achievement gap” was evidence that some students were taught well while the rest – mostly poor and minority – were allowed to struggle or drop out.

• Language and cultural barriers, too often left unaddressed by schools, exacerbated the problem.

The No Child Left Behind law ensures that schools are held accountable for the academic progress of every child, regardless of race, ethnicity, income level or zip code.

Because of No Child Left Behind, closing the achievement gap is now a national priority.

• Schools are now held specifically accountable for the annual progress of Hispanic American students.

• Schools must have high expectations for every child — the soft bigotry of low expectations is no longer tolerated.

The No Child Left Behind Act is working for Hispanic Americans.

• According to the Nation’s Report Card, reading and math scores for Hispanic nine-year-olds, and math scores for Hispanic 13-year-olds, are at all-time highs.

• Over the past 5 years, Hispanic 9-year-olds’ reading scores are up 12 pts. and math scores are up 17 pts.

• The achievement gap between white and Hispanic 9-year-olds in reading and math is at an all-time low.

“Parents can use this data to ensure that they’re asking the right questions when it comes to the education of their children,” she says. “NCLB has brought the academic achievement gap and traditionally neglected student groups, like children who are learning English and students with disabilities, front and center in schools across the country. Because federal law requires schools to disaggregate academic achievement data across student groups, schools can better determine where to target their resources much more than they have been able to do in the past.”

Other ways to overcome the dropout crisis is to look at education at the local, federal and corporate level. Lazarín believes Corporate America has much to gain by ensuring that all students graduate from high school and college ready for the workforce. “At the local level, partnerships between schools and businesses can leverage federal, state, and local dollars for school reform,” she says. “Also, the business community can help provide students with opportunities for service learning and mentoring, providing students with a real-world experience and skill set. At the federal level, Congress is considering ways to increase the capacity of teacher preparation programs at minority-serving institutions of higher education.”   Still, much can be done to improve the tracking of graduation rates across ethnic and racial groups. “Schools should be held accountable for closing the achievement gap as well as ensuring that all students, regardless of race, ethnicity and income graduate from high school on time with a meaningful high school diploma,” she says. “We must also recognize that this is a national crisis and ensure that schools have the resources to adequately address the issue.”   Resources: U.S. Department of Education: www.ed.gov.org National Association for the Education of Young Children: www.naeyc.org Strong American Schools: www.EDin08.com   National Center for Education Statistics: http://nces.ed.gov/

Secretary Spellings visiting schools throughout the U.S.

By Gloria Romano